Travis County Courthouse project advisory group takes shape

Travis County Commissioners have approved the majority of a 30-person group that will assist with the development of Travis County's Civil and Family Courthouse in downtown Austin.

The courthouse, a $300 million project just south of Republic Square, is projected to be completed in 2018. Travis County has hired North Carolina-based consultant URS Corp. to guide the development of the building and in February approved a draft charge for a citizens committee to work with URS.

On March 18, the county approved the majority of nominations to the committee, which had originally been envisioned as a 15-person board but has doubled in size. The group includes a wide range of area residents from differing backgrounds.

The full list and qualifications of the group is available online here. That list is expected to grow by about two as the county looks to balance the ethnicity of the advisory group with the county's population by adding more Hispanics, according to comments made at the March 18 meeting.